♥Special Needs♥

Trey joined the GRRCC family on Good Friday, April 14, 2017. He was born with a birth defect that makes him our newest ‘special needs’ guy, but someone forgot to tell him that! His right front paw grew out of the inside of his right elbow, which means that his right front leg just sort-of ‘ends’. Although his paw is useless to him, he uses his residual limb for balance, which is part of the reason we made the decision NOT to amputate or change what Trey has known as normal all these years. He will never be a traditional athlete nor mistaken for Usain Bolt (but believe me, when he wants to get somewhere fast, he does…see his video!). Hiking and epic tennis ball games are not his style. But, he navigates stairs with ease and can certainly walk to the school bus stop with his kids. He also loves to be outside (we think he probably spent most of his life outside) and fancies himself a champion hunter of chipmunks and squirrels. His all-time favorite thing is riding in the car. He knows “go” and will launch himself into the back of any car for a chance to go on a trip anywhere with his people! If he hears the jingle of his leash, he is out the door in a flash! He has literally never met a stranger and is – by far – the happiest guy his foster family has ever known!

Interestingly, Trey’s mobility was our main concern…until we received the result of his senior blood panel, which indicated that perhaps he had some issues with his liver. For 12 weeks we have been methodically and diligently following doctor’s orders to make him well! Four prescriptions, three bile acid tests, two senior blood panels and one ultrasound later, Trey feels so much better! Currently, he takes only two prescriptions – Denamarin & Ursodial – which may be required long-term and cost $265/month total. His blood chemistry results were completely normal in June and he acts like a regular, active, happy senior guy. But, his bile acid test – although it has shown improvement – is still is not completely within normal ranges. Our vets and our rescue experience tells us that this could be an indication of nothing more than normal age-related change. It could also be due to chronic issues with his liver or gallbladder and unfortunately, could also be early signs of something more sinister, like cancer or it could be nothing; we just don’t know. There is no way to know with 100% certainty without conducting a painful and invasive liver biopsy to obtain a sample of tissue for testing. We have decided that Trey will never go through anything painful or invasive for rest of his glorious, golden years.

Trey tells us that he feels much better than he felt in April when he arrived. He motors up and down the stairs with ease now. He pals around with his foster Golden brother and keeps up with him effortlessly. He loves children and takes treats gently, although he wishes his diet allowed more goodies! (Trey currently weighs 79 pounds and has lost 7 pounds in 12 weeks, which helps with his mobility. He could comfortably lose another 5 pounds.) He gets along great with other dogs. He is unknown with cats but given his dislike of fleeing fuzzy things like squirrels, he might not want a feline companion. He has perfect house manners and although he would love to be allowed on the furniture, he follows his Foster Family’s rules…even when they’re not looking! Trey has reached a point in his life where he would like a Forever Family that can be home with him most of the day. He’d like an occasional ride in the car and opportunities to rest in the grass and gnaw on sticks. He would probably enjoy a house without a ton of stairs or one where most of the ‘living’ is done on one floor. He’d like to go for a swim sometime, if possible. If there’s a thunderstorm, he’d like to hide in a small, cool, quiet place in the house until the danger passes. He’d like to hang out together with you and watch the world go by. If you could be Trey’s ideal Forever Family, please submit an application to meet him soon! To meet him is to fall in love! He may be ‘special needs’ but to all that meet him, he is just very, very special.